Rewind: Marantz's new 'music in a box', a retrospective on Plasma TVs and more

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Welcome to the latest entry of What Hi-Fi?’s weekly Rewind column, where we detail all the biggest hi-fi and home cinema news to break over the past seven days.

What a week it was, with fresh news from Samsung, Marantz, Triangle and more hitting the headlines.

Here’s what you need to know.

Marantz has a new dinky streaming amp

Marantz Model M1 streaming amp on wooden shelf — (Image credit: Marantz)

Streaming amps are a hot commodity at the moment, with everyone from breakout brand WiiM to established hi-fi powerhouses such as Naim, Cambridge Audio and Arcam releasing new models in the past 12 months. Last week Marantz got in on the action, unveiling its new Model M1 streaming amp.

Marketed as a “magical music box”, the M1 has a pretty impressive feature-set despite its small size. The box uses the HEOS streaming platform which, along with multi-room, will support hi-res streaming and key services including AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora and internet radio at launch. Tidal is confirmed to come at an unspecified later date.

Read the full story: Marantz's compact streaming amplifier is a "magical music box" ideal for small spaces

Samsung’s flagship Mini LED TV impressed

Samsung QN95D Neo-QLED TV — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix, Wild Babies)

Last week our reviews team delivered its final verdict on Samsung’s flagship Mini-LED TV, the QN95D. The set is interesting as it’s one of the most direct comparisons we have had between OLED and Mini LED. This is because, apart from its use of a Mini LED panel, it is largely identical to the Samsung S95D we tested earlier this year, which uses a QD-OLED panel. The results were impressive with the QN95D doing a stellar job showing how far Mini-LED has come in recent years, with it delivering a sharp, clear picture with surprising amounts of shadow detail during our checks.

Read our Samsung QN95D (QE65QN95D) review

We built an awesome home cinema system around the LG C4 OLED TV

LG C4 What Hi-Fi? system on grey background — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

It is no secret, our reviewers are big fans of the 65-inch LG C4, having awarded it a perfect five-stars when we tested it earlier this year. In fact, we like it so much that last week we took the time to build a cutting-edge home cinema system around it! For a modest, by top-end home cinema standards, £5175 / $5224 / AU$9569 you can get a current generation Xbox, Blu-Ray player, fully stacked surround sound package and AVR alongside the C4 – every single one of which has been reviewed and recommended by our team.

Read the full story: We've built a cutting-edge home cinema system around LG's superb C4 OLED TV

Guitar-amp juggernaut Orange continued its expansion into hi-fi

Orange Pyramid system in white — (Image credit: Orange)

Guitar-amp heavyweight Orange has been making gradual inroads into mainstream audio for a while now, releasing a steady stream of Bluetooth speakers. Last week it took things a step further by unveiling its new Pyramid audio system. Aimed squarely at hi-fi fans, the system includes a pyramid-shaped amplifier and pair of “Voice of the World” bookshelf speakers. Featuring cabled as well as wireless streaming connectivity, the package, Orange claims, will deliver the same “clean, warm sound” as its iconic guitar amps.

Read the full story: Orange's amp-and-speakers Pyramid system strives for sound that's fit for the pharaohs

We reminisced about Plasma TV’s glory days

What Hi-Fi? January 2004 Plasma TV test intro — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Looking at our forums and social media pages, we know many of you, our lovely readers, not only have fond memories of Plasma TVs, some of you even still own them. Which is why we took a retrospective look at the iconic TV tech, remembering what made it so popular and why it gradually went the way of the dodo. Cliff Notes: a cheaper, in some ways better, panel technology that is still in use today took its place.

Read the full story: What was Plasma TV, and why did it succumb to LCD?

We reviewed Triangle’s latest heavyweight floorstanders

Triangle Borea BR10 floorstanding speakers — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Last week our reviewers had the joy of testing Triangle’s BR10 floorstanding speakers. The BR10 are the largest option in Triangle’s current Borea range, which also includes the five-star BR03 standmounts and the Award-winning BR08 floorstanders. During testing we found they make use of their increased heft and size to deliver a loud, vibrant sound that will easily fill even the largest of spaces. Our only minor quibbles are that you really do need a large space to get the best performance out of them.

Read our full Triangle Borea BR10 review

READ MORE:

These are the best floorstanding speakers we have reviewed

Check out our picks of the best bookshelf speakers

These are the best hi-fi systems money can buy

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Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.